Heavy/Getty Gwen Stefani with Blake Shelton and her sons as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 19, 2023.
Country superstar Blake Shelton could not have been prouder of his wife, Gwen Stefani, as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 19, 2023. Sitting next to her at the ceremony, Shelton clapped at every mention of his wife’s successes. When it was Shelton’s turn to pay tribute to Stefani, who met in 2014 when they were both coaches on “The Voice,” he brought her to tears.
Here’s what you need to know:
Blake Shelton Remembers Gwen Stefani Pulling Up to ‘The Voice’ in Her Black Minivan With Her Kids
Stefani, 54, was joined at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony by her entire family and throngs of fans. In addition to Shelton, 47, she was accompanied by her sons, whom she shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale — Apollo, 9, Zuma, 15, and aspiring musician Kingston, 17 — as well as her siblings and parents.
Two music executives who were instrumental in her career’s success, Jimmy Iovine and Irving Azoff, took to the podium to celebrate the three-time Grammy winner. They were followed by Shelton, who was introduced by radio personality Ellen K. as “the love of Gwen’s life.”
“The first time that I ever met Gwen was in 2014,” Shelton began, reading from a speech he said he wrote to try keeping his comments concise.
“She wasn’t like any other famous person that I had ever met before. She drove herself to work in a black minivan with car seats in it. She didn’t roll in with security. She came in with a baby and two little boys, which at the time worked like security because nobody was going near — it was chaos,” Shelton joked.
With Stefani standing next to him, Shelton continued, “It was clear to me that she was a mother first and foremost over anything else in the world — that was her number one job.”
Struggling to keep her composure, Stefani wiped her eyes as Shelton continued, “And now, standing here almost 10 years later after I first met her, I can say without question that being a mother is still the most important thing in her life. And I got to tell you all, that’s rare in this business.”
“But today,” Shelton quipped, “it’s nice to see her honored for her side project, which is being one of the biggest stars in the world.”
When they first met, Stefani and Shelton were both navigating the ends of their high-profile marriages. Shelton and country star Miranda Lambert announced their divorce in July 2015, per Us Weekly. Meanwhile, Stefani and Rossdale also split in 2015, with their divorce finalized in 2016, according to TMZ.
Shelton and Stefani have said they leaned on each other during those difficult breakups and wound up falling in love. Shelton told Billboard in 2016 that “Gwen saved my life” during that period. The couple married in July 2021.
Blake Shelton Shares What Makes Him ‘Happiest’ About Wife Gwen Stefani’s Being Honored
GettyBlake Shelton speaks with wife Gwen Stefani by his side, as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 19, 2023.
Speaking before the unveiling of Stefani’s star, located next to popular independent record store Amoeba Music, Shelton declared that his wife “is the perfect person to receive a star on the Walk of Fame.”
“From music, television and movies to fashion and beauty, she has risen to the top over and over again with her unique style that has made the world fall in love with her,” Shelton gushed, adding, “Not as much as me though.”
“And then, there’s that one thing that no one can ever explain,” Shelton continued. “It’s that thing that she was just born with, that will make you stop and go, ‘Wait — who is that? What’s her name? What does she do? Why do I love her already? What the hell?’ That’s the thing that God gives you and without question, God gave Gwen an extra scoop of it.”
“What makes me happiest for Gwen, though, is that this all started with a song that she wrote,” Shelton said. “Songwriting is her favorite thing to do. And she happens to be exceptionally talented at it. If you take a look at Gwen’s discography over the years, from the early days of No Doubt to her solo records, there’s one common denominator on 99 percent of the songs — Gwen Stefani, the songwriter.”
According to Taste of Country, Stefani and Shelton collaborated as songwriters on their first duet, 2016’s “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” and later, the 2017 Christmas song “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.” But in 2021, she told DJ Khaled on his podcast that Shelton “just doesn’t like writing that much, it makes me so mad.”
“Gwen has blessed a lot of people’s lives with her songwriting talent in more ways than one,” Shelton continued in his tribute. “Now, I know firsthand that it takes a lot of people to make a hit record, but none of this would have ever happened without Gwen Stefani, the songwriter. So congratulations to my all-time favorite songwriter on your star. You deserve this and I love you.”
Stefani and Shelton embraced, with her telling him, “I said it’d make me cry.”
She then spoke to the crowd, calling the honor “insane” and saying that growing up in nearby Orange County, she “never, never in my wildest dreams” thought one day she would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
After looking back at the early days of her career, Stefani said that without “The Voice,” she never would have met “my best friend, my husband, Blake Shelton.”
“I love you so much,” she said. “You have given me the kind of love I never knew before. The minute I met you, I knew I was home and I’m so, so proud that you’re mine. I can’t believe it. I love you so much.”
Though Shelton retired in May from “The Voice” after 23 seasons as a coach, Stefani has returned as a coach for season 24, currently airing on NBC. Shelton received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May, with Stefani by his side.